


Pulling the Stars from the Sky

by quiet_rebel



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Angst, Dark, Drug Abuse, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:41:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4796423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_rebel/pseuds/quiet_rebel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Kate saw Seth shoot himself up with poison, she watched like a passenger in a speeding car with no brakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pulling the Stars from the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: DRUGS ARE BAD. DON'T DO DRUGS. JUST SAY NO.
> 
> Dedicated to SinSquad. We all know Kate is much stronger than this, but what if? Once?
> 
> Thanks to Taylah for reading and her reaction "makes my heart hurt dark." 
> 
> Also, special thanks to the bottle of red wine I finished while writing this story.
> 
> Please listen and read at the same time (the song I had on repeat while writing):  
> Title is from "Low" by The Violet Burning | https://youtu.be/Rm8qHW_6NDo  
> "We could lie here together  
> Pulling the stars from the sky  
> Maybe things will get better  
> Maybe not, I don't know why" 
> 
> Feedback is fuel.

The first time Kate saw Seth shoot himself up with poison, she watched like a passenger in a speeding car with no brakes. He stood at the tiny kitchenette sink inside the motel room they'd been holed up in for two weeks. This was the fifth town they'd settled in since leaving the Twister together a month ago. Anytime anyone gave Seth a second glance, he'd pack up their bags and say, “Time to move on, princess.” Not only was he paranoid about the authorities still after the Gecko brothers, he was also positive everyone was a culebra.

Except her.

“You're the only thing that's real, Kate” he told her once after swallowing too much tequila and pills. “The only thing in this world that's not bullshit.”

Pure. That's what he meant. She was still pure, innocent Kate. Just a little girl.

A little girl who staked her father in the heart and walked out of hell to ride away with the devil.

Kate's devil kept his back to her as he prepared his fix. She sat on her bed, motionless, listening to Seth pick up a spoon with his right hand, then with a flick of wrist, ignite the lighter in his left. Dressed only in a white tank and black slacks, his naked shoulders hunched over he waited for the rock of heroin to melt. Soon, a pungent stench filled the the entire room. He picked up the needle and filled the syringe with the drug. 

He moved to his bed, collecting the needle and his belt. He wrapped the belt around his right arm, criss-crossing the black leather around his tattoo, then he pulled on the buckle tightly.

As soon as he picked up the needle, Kate held out her hand. “Wait.”

With dark eyes, Seth looked up at her. A lifetime seemed to pass in those five seconds. A lifetime where she could have walked over and removed the needle from his hand, untied the belt around his arm, and soothed him with her words and touch.

But she knew she was trying to stop a car heading toward a brick wall. 

So, she watched as Seth dropped his gaze back to his arm. He found a thirsty vein and slipped the needle into his skin. A soft moan escaped his lips and his eyes rolled back into his head. The moment seemed to be filled with bliss, peace, contentment. Kate hadn't felt any of those emotions in months, hadn't felt much of anything, really. 

Seth fell back on his mattress, a dream-like expression on his face. 

Wait, she wanted to say again.

_Take me with you._

Like the morning outside the Twister.

She walked over to him, tucking her hair behind her ears as she sat beside him. Despite their now-hazy color, his eyes were still open. Did he see her right now or was he seeing something else? Someone else? 

His mouth curved upward. “You're still you.”

She resisted to urge to touch him, to make sure he was still Seth.

Instead, he rested his hand on her thigh. It was heavy, warm. She took his contact as an invitation and wrapped her smaller hand around his, interlacing their fingers. Maybe if she squeezed hard enough, some of his poison might seep through his cells and soak into her. 

**

The first time Kate asked Seth if she could try some of his poison, he glared at her, storms in his eyes and a scowl on his face. He balled his hands into fists, the track marks on his arms evidence of their life together on the dusty Mexican roads as they wandered from town to town. Seventh motel room in two months since they survived the Twister. Sixty days of scrapping by with enough money to get food, water, shelter, and Seth's fixes. 

Fixes that only created more broken pieces.

And Kate was getting sick of picking up the shards, sick of trying to rearrange them, sick of cleaning up the messes Seth left behind for her as he slipped into his dream world. 

“No,” he answered her.

The refusal rumbled deep inside her belly, but she wasn't going to back down.

“That's not fair,” she said.

“Fair?” He lifted his brows. “Nothing in our fucked-up lives is fair, you hear me?”

“I'm your partner. I risk my ass on every job we do out there so we can afford to buy your drugs.”

“So just because you can drive a car that means you get to sample some of the stash?” He grabbed his leather case from the table and pushed it into her hands. “Be my fucking guest.”

She looked down at the needle and rubber cord tucked inside the case. “I don't know how.” She hated how weak and small her voice sounded.

Seth just stood there with his hands on his hips.

“I don't know how.” Then, her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes.

With a sigh, Seth dropped his hands and moved toward her. He took the case from her before wrapping his arms around her frame. She tucked herself into his embrace, settling into his heat and comfort. 

“Why would you even want to try this shit anyway?” he asked, his chin resting on the top of her head.

_Because I'm scared. Because I'm sinking, drowning, gasping for air. Because my nightmares follow me into the sunlight._

“I don't want to feel like this anymore,” she said.

He pulled away to look at her, his palms cupping her face. “Like what?”

“Real,” she whispered, finding her reflection in his dark eyes.

His face softened. “That's what makes you stronger than me, Kate. You're real. You're honest. You're good.”

She shook her head with each description. “No, no, I'm not. I'm not any of those things, and I'm not stronger than you.”

“Stop, just stop it.” This time, it was Seth shaking his head. 

She sniffed, the tears drying. “I'll stop if you do.”

His jaw clenched.

“Stop using,” she said. “Live in the real world with me.”

He stepped away from her and ran a hand over his face, now covered in a sweaty sheen. He stared up at the ceiling before his gaze swung back to her, but it didn't settle there. His gaze fell to the case on the table, and she knew he had made up his mind.

Silently, he picked up his stash and began to assemble his next fix. He didn't ask her to join him. But after he filled the syringe with heroin, he turned to her. “Here.” 

Tentatively, she took the needle from him. He tightened the rubber cord around his right arm and guided them to his bed. 

“You wanna know how?” he said, offering her his arm. “I'll show you how.”

**

The first time Kate shot herself up with Seth's poison, their mouths were connected. Tenth motel room in three months since their lives intersected outside the Twister. Ninety days of watching and helping Seth score, get high, dream, wake up, and repeat. 

She never left his side.

That's how strong she was.

Seth pulled her down to his bed, hands roaming her body. She moaned into his mouth.

That's how weak she was.

“Wait,” she said.

He stopped and looked at her with his dark eyes, glazed not from the drugs, but from desire. For her. She remembered the first time she saw him shoot up, how she felt like a passenger. Now, she was the driver inside the car with no brakes.

Brakes she cut herself.

“Can I...” She looked over at his stash on the table. 

“Kate...”

She looked back at him. “Can we, please?”

As soon as Seth heard “we,” he relaxed. “Together?”

She brushed her lips against his mouth. “Together.”

For a moment, he didn't move, but then he rose and started to get her fix ready. The spoon. The heroin. The lighter. The flame. The needle and the syringe. He returned to her with the rubber cord, but instead of taking it from him, her hands went to his waist. 

Seth stood in front of where she sat on the bed, his head lowered, watching attentively as she undid his belt buckle. She could see how hard he was underneath his black slacks. As her fingers brushed against his erection, his breathing became shallow. She looked up at him and slowly tugged the belt through the loops. His mouth was slightly open, his tongue peeking out. She wanted to suck on it again, but she concentrated first on removing his belt. When it was free, she held it up for him.

“I want to use this,” she said.

He put away the rubber cord and took his belt from her. “Which arm?” His voice deep and low. 

She held out her right one, the same one he used. Carefully, he wrapped the leather around her upper arm. Each twist and tug caused her heartbeat to quicken. 

“Okay?” Seth asked.

She nodded.

When the belt was wrapped tightly around her, he picked up the needle filled with his poison. “Just like how I showed you.”

She tapped her arm until the correct vein appeared. She took the syringe from Seth and with steady hands, gently slid the needle into her skin. With a long exhale, she injected the drug into her body. 

“That's it,” Seth said. “Just like that.” Although he stood inches from her, his voice sounded faraway, the poison already settling inside her.

Seth took the needle from her and she swayed back and forth in her sitting position. Her feet were planted to the floor, but she felt like she was floating. Everything moved with her. The bed tilted. The TV rotated. Even Seth moved—but he really was moving. She heard him preparing his own fix at the table. After all, she had promised him together.

Kate fell back against the bed sheets, the material cool against her hot skin. Above her, the ceiling clouded. She blinked and her vision cleared. Seth appeared, his body draped over hers. She reached up, his belt still dangling from her right arm, and brushed her knuckles across the dark stubble on his cheek. He leaned into her touch, and she was surprised at how real he felt. 

She smiled. “You're still you.”

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> "Do you feel love so high?  
> Love so high  
> I feel high"


End file.
